I'm quarter an American...and quarter a Japanese

[HSS]

I'm quarter an American, quarter a Canadian, quarter an Australian, and quarter a Japanese.

How about this? Could this be possibly accepted, with a Japanese?

Hiro

 

[JulianStuart]

Sorry, not at all idiomatic. If you left out all the articles and left the adjectives, that would be more typically how we would say that.

Edit - see below on the use of "a quarter {adjective}" and "ø half {adjective}"

 

[HSS]

Okay, Julian. I tried again. But to no avail again.

 

[JulianStuart]

Alternatively you could move the articles to "I'm a quarter X, a quarter Y" etc but not your version

 

[HSS]

Do you mean 'I'm a quarter American, a quarter Canadian, a quarter Australian, and a quarter Japanese' is not used?

 

[JulianStuart]

Do you mean 'I'm a quarter American, a quarter Canadian, a quarter Australian, and a quarter Japanese' is not used?

No, I mean that IS used. It's your original version but with the articles moved to before "quarter"

 

[HSS]

Oh, okay. IS used, I see.

Does that lead to possibly being able to say simply 'I'm a quarter Japanese'? Or, 'I'm a half Japanese'?

 

[Cagey]

We say "I'm a quarter Japanese", but we say "I'm half Japanese" (without the article).

 

[HSS]

Hi, Cagey.

So the use of 'quarter' and and that of 'half' in this construct are different. Interesting!

 

[HSS]

Incidentally, you wouldn't say:
I'm a half American and a half Japanese.
I'm half an American and half a Japanese.
I'm a half American.
or
I'm half an American,
would you?

I'm asking this because a friend of mine, born and raised in the U.S., uses them often. She uses Japanese at home.

 

[You little ripper!]

Incidentally, you wouldn't say:
I'm a half American and a half Japanese.
I'm half an American and half a Japanese.
I'm a half American.
or
I'm half an American,
would you?

I'm asking this because a friend of mine, born and raised in the U.S., uses them often. She uses Japanese at home.

No, we wouldn’t. We don’t use the ‘a’ or the ‘an’ in those sentences.

 

[HSS]

Hi, You little ripper!

So, in summary, it's either 'a quarter + ethnicity noun' or 'quarter + ethnicity adjective', and 'half ethnicity adjective.' Still interesting!

 

[HSS]

Additionally, I wondered if, in the case of 'quarter,'

I am a three-quarter Japanese.
and
I am three-quarter Japanese.

are okay, correct?

 

[Loob]

I am three-quarters Japanese.

 

[You little ripper!]

A lot of people might say, “I’m half Japanese and half American”, but saying that you are a quarter of any nationality isn’t that common. In my experience most people would say, “I have a bit of American, Japanese, Australian and Canadian in me” or “I have a mixed background - a bit of American, a bit of Canadian, a bit of Australian and a bit of Japanese”. Some people might jokingly say, “I’m a bit of a mongrel! A bit of Japanese, a bit of .........”.

 

[Linkway]

This use of fractions seems very old-fashioned as well as unscientific.

Far better to refer to mixed heritage or parentage.

In any case, someone can be 100% Japanese ethnically and 100% American in terms of citizenship.

 

[HSS]

Thanks for your input, everone.

Yes, racial mixture is advancing quite a bit. Everyone is mixted a lot.

I am three-quarters Japanese.

Hi, Loob. Then, I am a three-quarters Japanese is wrong???

 

[Marsianitoh]

Hi, Loob. Then, I am a three-quarters Japanese is wrong???

I'm not Loob, but let's see if this helps you:
a quarter=1 quarter
three quarter= 3 quarters
You cannot be "one three quarters"
"a" is only used with " a (1) quarter".

 

[Loob]

Hi, Loob. Then, I am a three-quarters Japanese is wrong???

Yes, it's wrong, as Marsianitoh says .

In I'm a quarter Japanese, the "a" goes with "quarter", not with "Japanese".

You get the same pattern if you use fractions with other adjectives:
The bowl is half full.
The bowl is a quarter full.
The bowl is three-quarters full.

 

[HSS]

Thanks, both.

But you would also say, "I'm quarter Japanese," without a, wouldn't you? Sorry I'm touching upon this and that.

 

[Loob]

No, I don't think I would, Hiro.

 

[JulianStuart]

This discussion is now more about fractions than race. A glass may be half full but it is not quarter full, it is a quarter full or one quarter full". This Ngram pot is revealing about articles before half or quarter. One-quarter is also used (in place of a quarter).

Woods' Parents Both Multi-Ethnic
[Tiger] Woods' mother, Kultida, is a native of Thailand whose own ancestry includes Chinese and Dutch. She once referred to herself as "half-Thai, one-quarter Chinese and one-quarter white."

 

[HSS]

As in post #2, Julian says he would say 'I am quarter Japanese, and, Loob, you would not. Maybe it's another Big Pond devide???

 

[JulianStuart]

As in post #2, Julian says he would say 'I am quarter Japanese, and, Loob, you would not. Maybe it's another Big Pond devide???

(I learnt English on the same side of the pond as Loob, that's why my avatar says UK then US )

Nope - I retract that comment: I was focussing on article placement (and said "more typically" with respect to that) and then see #4 in particular

Alternatively you could move the articles to "I'm a quarter X, a quarter Y" etc but not your version

The ngrams are particularly clear on this - we put an article in front of quarter but not half. In the case of the glass "Ngrams not found: is quarter full, is a half full"

 

[RM1(SS)]

we put an article in front of quarter but not half

 

[HSS]

When it comes to 'American,' I wonder if you still can't say

I am a three-quarter American.
I met a three-quarter American.

(I know what is meant by American. Let's just put it away for now)

 

[JulianStuart]

When it comes to 'American,' I wonder if you still can't say

I am a three-quarter American.
I met a three-quarter American.

(I know what is meant by American. Let's just put it away for now)

No you can't. See #14.
Edit: You could say "I'm 75% American and 25% Japanese" but still no articles

 

[HSS]

So it looks like you can't simply use the 'I met (a person)" construct.

I met a man who is three-quarters American.

 

[JulianStuart]

So it looks like you can't simply use the 'I met (a person)" construct.

I met a man who is three-quarters American.

See #14.